Thursday, 24 September 2015

When’s the Next Bandh?

-Brian Mendonça

‘Bandh’ is taken from the
Hindi word to mean ‘closed.’ It is a unique form of protest where shops and
establishments are expected to down their shutters in support of a demand. I
use the word ‘expected’ because the general public is usually coerced into
following the diktat of bandh leaders or to face the consequences. The word
bandh has now passed into Indian English.

The comments of the Chief
Minister of Goa were laudable when he said that a bandh may be called by anyone,
but they cannot force anyone to observe it.

It was with that
reassurance that I headed to work last week. A strong posse of police at the
Titan junction showed me that all was under control. When I reached my place of
work at Nuvem, there was excited chatter among those who shared their exploits
about how they got to work. It was interesting how some who had reached their
destination dissuaded others from doing so. Grave misgivings were expressed
about what could happen later in the day.

Not giving a fig about
bandhs whether in Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune or Goa for that matter, I deliberately
sallied forth to Margao at 11.30 a.m. when the ‘bandh’ would be at its peak.
For the second time I called David and Company to inquire if they were open. ‘Is
it ok to come in to Margao?’ I asked furtively. ‘It’s ok till now,’ was the
sagacious reply. I admired their will to work inspite of the circumstances. ‘I
don’t support bandhs,’ said Lawrence Coutinho when I reached David and Co.
‘There are enough holidays for religious festivals in India. And then they say
India is not progressing.’ I needed some memorial cards printed urgently, so I
was most relieved I could confirm my order on that day. I chatted with Lawrence
about visiting their main store at Dhobitalao, Mumbai established about 60
years ago.

After I bought the
traditional fruit cake from Morning Star bakery, Margao, I decided to nip into the
Margao branch of Furtados, (established 1865) for some music. Every Wednesday I
teach students who are interested to play the guitar. I was overjoyed to find
the store open and spent a great time there with Sean D’Souza showing me
around. The guitar chord circles I picked up were a great favourite with my
students later that day. I told Sean that I had visited the Furtado stores in
Delhi and the iconic one in town in Mumbai which I visited as a schoolboy.

I had an uneventful ride
back to Vasco, giving a lift to two somewhat desperate colleagues. I gobbled my
lunch and sped down to State Bank of India, Vasco to ascertain my balance. On
the way out I activated my internet banking, swept up to the first floor to the
home loan section, and nudged over to the PPF desk.

I got more work done –
and parking space! -- on a bandh day than on any other. When’s the next bandh?